Clean Eating Super Yummy Spicy Goulash

Spicy Goulash

Ingredients:

5-6 carrots (my carrots were pretty puny:) sliced thin

1 16 oz. bag of frozen corn

3 zucchini, sliced thin

5 cans of diced tomatoes

**You can add some white beans or lentils, especially if you're making this for the vegetarian version.

1/2 carton of beef broth

1 capful of Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning

1 capful of Mrs. Dash "Garlic and Red Pepper" seasoning (I would have generally used actual garlic and red pepper, but I was out)

few shakes of black ground pepper and you should be good!

*You can use simple spices like chili powder instead, if you prefer.

I used my grater for slicing the carrots and zucchini

Mmmmm... spicy!

Dump all of the ingredients together in a pan (again, I pureed some of the diced tomatoes... not even sure why we HAD cans of diced tomatoes in the first place!) and cook on medium heat for at least an hour.  I left mine cooking for probably 3?  It would be fabulous in a crockpot if I had one that didn't burn half of everything I make!

Serve with whole wheat pasta for a "Clean Eating" vegetarian meal...

Or, you can serve with the Spicy Meatballs for the non vegetarian in your life.

This recipe turned out REALLY well.  It was a little watery, because I forgot the beef broth until it was almost done, but it was SO full of flavor, we loved it!  We had a nice big salad and some garlic bread with it (the garlic bread was NOT clean eating, but my kids aren't terribly concerned with being THAT clean!)

Clean Eating: Easy Spicy Gluten Free Meatballs

Super Simple Super Spicy Meat Balls

Ingredients:

2-3 cups of Gluten Free cereal.  I used Rice Squares.

1 pound of lean ground beef

1 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 Tbsp "Extra Spicy" seasoning from Mrs. Dash (you can leave this out, but I love these spices!)

1 Tbsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 eggs

I just crush up the cereal using my hands, but you can stick it in a food processor if you want.  I ended up pureeing most of the diced tomato when my picky girl said, "Ewww... you're putting tomatoes in it?" but you can usually just leave them in chunks.

I always bake meatballs on a wire rack in a pan to catch the grease, even with lean ground beef, this helps keep even more fat out.  I can't stand cooking ground beef where it is sitting in the grease... yuck.

Viola!  These were SPICY!!!  Dang!  I'm glad I made some without the crushed red pepper for Abyni and I because I took one bite of a spicy one and my mouth was on FIRE.  Of course Kainan actually ate his with extra hot sauce.  Go figure.  I served them with the goulash type dish that I kind of made up on the go.  It was a little liquid-y because I didn't get the beef broth until late in the game, but it was very flavorful!

Clean Eating #67: Vegetarian, Gluten Free Zucchinie Tomato Quinoa Casserole

Zucchini Tomato Quinoa Casserole

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Red Quinoa

1/2 cup regular Quinoa

2-3 cups of water

1 Zucchini Sliced

1 Tomato Diced

Pepper/Ground Red Pepper to taste

Parmesan &/Feta Cheese to Taste

*Optional Marinara Sauce

Directions:

Prepare the Quinoa according to the directions on the box

Sautee the Zucchini on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes

Add the tomatoes to the skillet of Zucchini continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes until the zucchini  tomatoes are softened.

Mix together with quinoa, add a little extra marinara if you want, sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese & serve.

What I did with the leftovers:  I took the leftovers, added about 1/4th cup of marinara sauce and reheated it in the oven with a sprinkle of Mozzerella cheese and we had it for dinner.  My husband works out in the evenings after work, so this was a perfect after workout high protein meal!

You can also just have the Zucchini & tomatoes as a side dish that goes great with broiled Tilapia!

Clean Eating #66: Super Quick & Easy Gluten Free Polenta Mini Pizzas

Super Quick & Easy

Gluten Free

Super Easy Vegetarian

Mini Pizzas

Ingredients:  Polenta & your choice of pizza toppings!

Start off with some precooked polenta... Sliced about 1/4th inch thick.

Stick on a pan under the broiler set at 400 for about 3-5 minutes.  Flip and broil the other side, too.

Top with your choice of toppings (Ideas below).

Add your choice of cheeses

Stick back under the broiler to melt cheese.

Topping ideas:
Homemade Salsa & Refried Beans w/ lowfat cheddar
Homemade Marinara & sauteed Zucchini & mozzerella
Slice of tomato, pepper & feta cheese
Mozzerella Cheese

Verdict:  Um... well, Jaedin LOVED them.  He ate most of the pan.  The girls and I didn't care much for the texture of the polenta.  I may try making it from scratch, rather than buying it premade.  The rubbery texture really made us all... yeah.  However, if you're already eating gluten free, you may be used to the different texture.  These were super super easy to make, so I will definitely keep this stuff on hand for at least Jaedin.  I liked the Polenta with Quinoa more than the plain.

What I'd Do Differently Next Time:  Next time came right after this time:)  I made pizza crusts using our 'easy bread dough' recipe and we used the same toppings.  Love:)